Don't Expect Israel to Respond to Iran Like It Did in April

It's a matter of when, not if, Israel retaliates against Iran, which on Tuesday fired about 180 missiles toward Israel, reports NBC News. An Israeli official told the news outlet that Israel's political, military, and intelligence leaders are meeting at the defense ministry Wednesday to formalize the response and its timeline, which the official notes is complicated by the Wednesday night start of Rosh Hashana. More:

• The AP quotes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying late Tuesday that Iran "made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it." An Iranian commander said any retaliation will be met with wider strikes.
• The Wall Street Journal notes that after Iran fired missiles at Israel in April, Israel responded by going after a single Iranian military site. "Few expect Israel's response to be as narrow this time," the paper observes.

• Jeremy Bowen echoes that at the BBC, writing that in April, "Iran effectively gave notice of the attack in terms of how it carried it out, and everything was pretty much shot out of the air by Israeli and American defenses. This time around it's different. The Iranians looked like they wanted to do some serious damage and were making a much more aggressive point. ... I would not rule out attacks by Israel on anything at the moment—nuclear sites, petrochemical facilities, anything that could cause damage to the Iranian economy."
• Axios reports much the same after speaking with Israeli officials. It suggests Iran's oil facilities, nuclear sites, and air defense systems are all possible targets, and that targeted assassinations are possible.
• The Journal cites Iran's Fars news agency as saying Iran used four types of medium-range ballistic missiles Tuesday: Emad and Ghadr missiles, which were also used in April; the newer and more advanced Kheibar Shekan and Fattah missiles. All have a 600-plus-mile range.
• The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the situation.

• Meanwhile, the Lebanese army says Israeli forces came about a quarter of a mile into Lebanese territory on Wednesday and then withdrew "after a short period," reports CNN. The AP calls the statement "the first official acknowledgement from Beirut that Israeli forces have carried out a ground incursion into Lebanon."
• NBC News quotes the Israeli military as saying Wednesday morning that its troops have had "close-range engagements" in southern Lebanon with Hezbollah fighters.
• Israel also says it has suffered its first combat death since beginning ground operations in Lebanon. Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, a 22-year-old in a commando brigade, died in combat.

(More Iran stories.)